It's Not Too Late ...

Fellow Collector:

It’s not too late to post a comment that could help preserve your continued ability to purchase Roman Imperial Coins from abroad.   The State Department and US Customs have already drastically limited your ability to bring Greek, Punic, Etruscan and early Republican coins struck in Italy into the United States legally.  Now, unless collectors engage, there is a real danger the State Department and US Customs will use an upcoming renewal of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Italy to extend current restrictions to Roman Imperial Coins.  That would make them quite difficult to import legally as well.   Current restrictions on other “Italian” artifacts already include the Roman Imperial period so we simply can’t take this possibility for granted.

Please tell the State Department’s Cultural Property Advisory Committee what you think about the issue.  To comment, please go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov), enter the Docket No. DOS-2015-0010-0001 (or try this direct link:  http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=DOS-2015-0010-0001) and follow the prompts to submit a comment.  Please note comments may be posted only UNTIL MARCH 20, 2015 at 11:59 PM.  You do not need to be an American to comment and the fact that you may have commented on an earlier MOU is not relevant for purposes of this proceeding. 

What should you say?    Indicate how restrictions will negatively impact your business and/or the cultural understanding and people to people contacts collecting provides.   Add that it’s typically impossible to assume a particular coin (especially Roman ones) was “first discovered within” and “subject to the export control” of Italy.  You might also add that Italian historical coins are very common and widely and legally available for sale elsewhere, and point out the absurdity of restricting coins freely available for sale  in Italy itself.   

For more, see http://culturalpropertyobserver.blogspot.com/2015/02/enough-already-oppose-yet-another.html